In our previous post, we discussed what is a day boarding school and why should you go for it. It is going to be a second home for your child since he/she is going to spend almost 10 hours every day here. That is more than 60% of his waking time. So you need to ensure that you find a great school. Here we list 7 things that you must understand and be aware of, to make a right decision.
1. Find a good school first and then a day boarding
You are looking for a school for your kids. So make sure that it is a great school first and offers great learning environment, reputed teachers and good curriculum. It has a day boarding facility should be an addition benefit, NOT the only one. So all your research in to finding a great school for your kids must not be compromised
2. Look in to the mess!
Your children will have their lunch and a snack at the day boarding school and that too without your supervision. Find out if they lunch that kids are offered is healthy for them. The questions to ask are
- Do they offer hygienic, nutritious food that is suited for growing kids?
- Do they offer variety in their food or is it the same meal every day?
- What kind of kitchen does the day boarding school have and what are the dining facilities available?
- What is offered as a snack - is it nutritious fruits or sugary snacks and colas?
3. Rest is important
Kids need to rest after a long day at school. Find out what kind facilities will the school offer. The questions to ask are
- Do they have sufficient beds?
- Is the resting place / dorms hygienic?
- What is the school policy about rests?
4. Deep dive in to extra-curricular and sports
These days, extra curricular and sports are as important as academics. Since the child stays back in school for 4-6 hours longer after the school is over, will he/she have chance to develop other interests and hobbies e.g. music, sports. What kind of facilities (even if charged extra) will the school offer them?
5. Ensure that home-work is really like home work
When students study or complete their home work at home, it usually under your supervision and quality control. You make sure that they learn and understand. The kids will often complete their homework in the day boarding school itself. Schools claim that this will be done under watchful eyes of teachers. It is important to ask the following
- How will the school ensure quality of homework and learning time?
- Are their teachers to oversee the kids when the study?
- Who are these teachers? Are they same teachers as those during morning hours or they different? More often, these are different teachers
6. You can be late to pick up the child
The main reason why you are looking for a day boarding school for your kids is because you need someone to take care of them while you are away at work. If you are going to pick-up the kids yourself from the school in the evening, be aware that you can be late some times. No matter how hard you try, rain, office meetings, flat tyre could come in the way. It is important to find out
from school what happens in such cases? How do they plan to take care of kids in such cases and till how long can the child stay there?
7. Ensure safety
The child will stay at the school after the normal hours, eat, sleep, study and play there. It is important to ensure that adequate care is taken to ensure safety of the child including staff to oversee the kids, access to urgent medical facilities and supervision and timely intervention by senior school staff in case of fights amongst kids etc. Make sure that the school has someone wh
o will be at the phone and who can reach you or you can reach him/her in case of any safety issues
Hope this list is useful to you and helps you find a great day boarding school for your kids. Let us know about your experience with finding good schools and what we could all be aware of to help other parents benefit from your experience.